BRIDGING EDUCATION AND ENTERPRISE: SUCCESS FACTORS OF STUDENT BUSINESS INCUBATORS IN CROATIA

The paper aims to examine the operation of student business incubators, which play an increasingly important role in fostering entrepreneurship, innovation, and university–industry collaboration, especially in emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems such as Croatia’s. The research was conducted through in-depth interviews with five student business incubator managers. The study identified the dominant services provided by incubators, the barriers faced by their tenants, incubator outcomes, different forms of cooperation with the business sector, and plans for the future. The paper concludes that the most successful incubators provide support in: (1) idea development; (2) prototyping; (3) investor search; (4) market entry; and (5) identification of opportunities based on the needs of the business sector. The results will help other student business incubators conduct benchmarking and assist organizations planning to establish a student business incubator in implementing the identified successful practices.